Bert Parks
Encyclopedia
Bert Parks, born Bertram Jacobson (December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992), was an American
actor
, singer, and radio
and television
announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America
telecast from 1955 to 1979.
Parks was born in Atlanta, Georgia
, to Aaron Jacobson, a Jewish merchant who had emigrated to the United States in 1900 from Latvia
(then part of the Russian Empire
), and his wife Hattie (Spiegel) Jacobson, the daughter of immigrants from Austria-Hungary
. He had one older brother, Allen Jacobson. Parks and his brother attended Marist High School in Atlanta and were raised as Christians.
and was hired as a singer and straight man on The Eddie Cantor
Show, then becoming a CBS Radio
staff announcer. Parks was the host of Break the Bank, which premiered on radio in 1945 and was telecast from 1948 to 1957, as well as Stop the Music on radio in 1948 and television from 1949 to 1952.
With other celebrities, he hosted NBC radio's Monitor
during the 1960s.
NBC flagship station WNBT), which involved viewers calling in to answer questions and win $5 prizes; Party Line ran from June 8 to August 31, 1947, making its one surviving episode the oldest known game show and one of the oldest surviving television shows to have been recorded. Commercial kinescopes did not come out until Fall 1947 (co-sponsored by NBC, DuMont, and Kodak), and the only kinescopes known to predate Party Line are a few episodes of Kraft Television Theater from February and June 1947.
Other games that Parks hosted in early television include Stop the Music
(1949-52/1954-56), Double or Nothing (1952–54), Balance Your Budget (1952–53), Two in Love (1954), Giant Step (1956–57), Hold That Note (1957), Bid 'n' Buy (1958), County Fair (1958–59), Masquerade Party
(1958–60), The Big Payoff
(1959), Yours for a Song
(1961–63), and the pilot for The Hollywood Squares (April 21, 1965). His last game show hosting job was in 1968, on the pilot for a revival of Heatter-Quigley's The Celebrity Game; the show did not sell.
He also helmed a daytime variety show
in 1950, simply called The Bert Parks Show. Parks is most famous for hosting the Miss America telecast from 1955–79, after which he was unceremoniously fired by the Organization in an attempt to attract a more youthful audience. Tonight Show
host Johnny Carson
led an on-air campaign to get Parks rehired, but was unsuccessful.
In 1991, for the 70th anniversary of the Miss America pageant, Parks was brought on by host Gary Collins
to sing "There She Is". It was the last time Parks performed the song live.
Parks did a take-off of his hosting role in The Freshman
(1990), starring Marlon Brando
, Matthew Broderick
, and Bruno Kirby
. He played the emcee of a Gourmet Club dinner where guests supposedly eat a Komodo Dragon
, singing a spoof of "There She Is" in a salute to the deceased dragon.
Parks appeared on WKRP In Cincinnati
in the 1980 episode "Herb's Dad", playing Herb Tarlek Sr. (father of series' regular Herb Tarlek
Jr.). In 1988, Parks appeared on an episode of 227 as himself, and in 1991, Parks appeared on an episode of Night Court
as himself.
at La Jolla, California in 1992 at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife of 49 years, Annette (Liebman) Parks, and their three children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer, and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
telecast from 1955 to 1979.
Parks was born in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, to Aaron Jacobson, a Jewish merchant who had emigrated to the United States in 1900 from Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
(then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
), and his wife Hattie (Spiegel) Jacobson, the daughter of immigrants from Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. He had one older brother, Allen Jacobson. Parks and his brother attended Marist High School in Atlanta and were raised as Christians.
Radio
Parks entered radio broadcasting at age 16, for Atlanta's WGST. Three years later, he moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was hired as a singer and straight man on The Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
Show, then becoming a CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
staff announcer. Parks was the host of Break the Bank, which premiered on radio in 1945 and was telecast from 1948 to 1957, as well as Stop the Music on radio in 1948 and television from 1949 to 1952.
With other celebrities, he hosted NBC radio's Monitor
Monitor (NBC Radio)
NBC Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. Airing live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network, it originally aired beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday...
during the 1960s.
Television
Parks' first game show was Party Line on NBC (broadcast from New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
NBC flagship station WNBT), which involved viewers calling in to answer questions and win $5 prizes; Party Line ran from June 8 to August 31, 1947, making its one surviving episode the oldest known game show and one of the oldest surviving television shows to have been recorded. Commercial kinescopes did not come out until Fall 1947 (co-sponsored by NBC, DuMont, and Kodak), and the only kinescopes known to predate Party Line are a few episodes of Kraft Television Theater from February and June 1947.
Other games that Parks hosted in early television include Stop the Music
Stop the Music (TV series)
Stop the Music is a prime time television game show that aired for an hour on Thursday evenings on ABC from May 5, 1949 to April 24, 1952, and again for a half-hour from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956. It had also been broadcast on radio from 1948 to 1949.The series hosts were Bert Parks and...
(1949-52/1954-56), Double or Nothing (1952–54), Balance Your Budget (1952–53), Two in Love (1954), Giant Step (1956–57), Hold That Note (1957), Bid 'n' Buy (1958), County Fair (1958–59), Masquerade Party
Masquerade Party
A syndicated revival was produced by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall in 1974, hosted by Richard Dawson and announced by Jay Stewart. The basic premise was the same as the original show. Bill Bixby, Lee Meriweather, and Nipsey Russell were regular panelists. Col. Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried...
(1958–60), The Big Payoff
The Big Payoff
The Big Payoff was a daytime and primetime game show that premiered on NBC in 1951, and ended its network run on CBS in 1959. It had a brief syndication revival in 1962...
(1959), Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song is an American game show, created by Bob Russell, that aired on ABC from 1961-1963 with Bert Parks as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer...
(1961–63), and the pilot for The Hollywood Squares (April 21, 1965). His last game show hosting job was in 1968, on the pilot for a revival of Heatter-Quigley's The Celebrity Game; the show did not sell.
He also helmed a daytime variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
in 1950, simply called The Bert Parks Show. Parks is most famous for hosting the Miss America telecast from 1955–79, after which he was unceremoniously fired by the Organization in an attempt to attract a more youthful audience. Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
host Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
led an on-air campaign to get Parks rehired, but was unsuccessful.
In 1991, for the 70th anniversary of the Miss America pageant, Parks was brought on by host Gary Collins
Gary Collins
Gary James Collins is a retired American football end and punter who played for the Cleveland Browns from 1962 to 1971....
to sing "There She Is". It was the last time Parks performed the song live.
Recordings
A recording of "There She Is, Miss America" as sung by Parks is still used each year in the Miss America contest as the new reigning titleholder takes her walk down the runway in her newly-earned crown.Parks did a take-off of his hosting role in The Freshman
The Freshman (1990 film)
The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, in which Brando parodies his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather....
(1990), starring Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
, and Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
. He played the emcee of a Gourmet Club dinner where guests supposedly eat a Komodo Dragon
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
, singing a spoof of "There She Is" in a salute to the deceased dragon.
Parks appeared on WKRP In Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
in the 1980 episode "Herb's Dad", playing Herb Tarlek Sr. (father of series' regular Herb Tarlek
Herb Tarlek
Herb Tarlek is a character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati . He was played by actor Frank Bonner...
Jr.). In 1988, Parks appeared on an episode of 227 as himself, and in 1991, Parks appeared on an episode of Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
as himself.
Death
Bert Parks died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at La Jolla, California in 1992 at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife of 49 years, Annette (Liebman) Parks, and their three children.